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Monday, May 9, 2011

What makes indie films so attractive is that they aren't afraid to be obscure. We aren't sheltered by the fears that the large studios in Hollywood might have about what their target audience might want or not want to see. There is more freedom of expression and more exposed emotion. I think it can be difficult for some people to take in because indies are good to displaying emotions and situations that most people hope to never have to deal with, or situations that they've experienced and don't want to face.

People are complicated and we don't always understand each other or why we react differently, which is no surprise. Simple emotions lie at the soul of ever human: happiness, sadness, love, fear, ECT. The problem is rarely do we see people have the exact same ratio of certain emotions at the exact same time, which causes conflict.

Indie film are great at trying to breakdown this barrier and that's just what the plot of Contractor's Routine does. We're looking at a disturbed man in a typical day of his life. He's trying to make the best of all the emotions and thoughts that he doesn't seem to have total control over. The more you watch, the more you start to come to understand Jacob's actions and you ask yourself why. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, but I love how his movie lets you feel what Jacob is feeling, knowing that you'll be able to return to yourself once it's over. It's like getting a free ride through the mind of another. Contractor's Routine is the perfect addition to the great indie films that we look back on and remember how we were feeling at that moment as we were watching it. That's what an indie is about, that's what I seek out.

Monday, May 2, 2011

In "Contractor's Routine" we get to see Jacob's fantasies. These fantasies control him, so to speak, for a short period of time. I think it's safe to say we've all been there; pulling into your driveway and you think "I don't even remember getting off the freeway". But how much do our fantasies, or day dreams, have an impact on our actions? And is that impact positive or negative?

In the movie we get to see Jacob's reactions to this thoughts and fantasies and they put him in an irked state, causing him to find a way to take out his frustrations. I find my self wondering if his fantasies are a result of his conscious thoughts or if it's the other way around. The human mind is so difficult to understand, especially when it's the mind of someone who his slightly (or greatly) disturbed. You can't get into someone else's head, you can only make assumptions and create judgments/biases from that.

Jacob struggles to control his actions through the help of his conscious because he knows that these thoughts he has are wrong. Everyone has committed some act that they know was wrong, it's human nature to make a mistake. However, it's the aftermath; the remorse, the conscious effects and how we shape our actions thereafter that have a real say in whether we are mentally stable. What I find scary is that you can think you know someone for so long and they will end up doing something that shocks you. It could be betraying your trust or robbing a bank, but it makes you realize that you have no idea what it going through some one's head. It could even be something that you've done and after the fact you are so ashamed. All in all, who knows? I say don't be quick to judge because it could have been you.